Is it too late to start hating Microsoft/Windows products?

[russotto]

Originally Posted by grant

Linux is very solid for desktop use as long as you're willing to read the manual and a large number of options doesn't bug you.

And if you don't want to go blind. Freetype just doesn't cut it, even with the evil patent-violating bits turned on. Err, make that the evil-patent violating bits.

Aside from that, KDE still seems a bit klunky. But then again, so is Windows.

[tw]

By far, the largest problem I have had with Operating Systems is directly traceable to incompatible hardware. No just individual devices and strange driver problems; also conflicts with IRQs, registry problems that the hardware manufacturer did not properly address or properly remove, etc. IOW, by number, the most common reason for problems are directly traceable to component vendors who did not sufficiently design their product.

I can't say enough about brand name products because these incompatibilities tend to be less common with the (more expensive) brand name products.

Some glaring examples were software that, well, the vendor eventually conceded that their product was not compatible (yet) with that upgraded or new Operation System.

[Perry Winkle]

Originally Posted by tw

By far, the largest problem I have had with Operating Systems is directly traceable to incompatible hardware. No just individual devices and strange driver problems; also conflicts with IRQs, registry problems that the hardware manufacturer did not properly address or properly remove, etc. IOW, by number, the most common reason for problems are directly traceable to component vendors who did not sufficiently design their product.

I think the hardware is probably designed well enough. It's more likely that the drivers are bad. That's why it's important to release detailed specs and good docs so that drivers can be written for _any_ system or rewritten if the manufacturer's drivers suck.

I don't think you should blame the OS because the drivers for your hardware aren't up to snuff and you can't blame the hardware because the drivers are shit.

[tw]

Originally Posted by grant

I think the hardware is probably designed well enough. It's more likely that the drivers are bad. That's why it's important to release detailed specs and good docs so that drivers can be written for _any_ system or rewritten if the manufacturer's drivers suck.

The problem with so much hardware design (and I worked on enough for the government to appreciate why) is that the drivers are part of the hardware design. Unfortunately too many hardware designers don't understand software and too many software writers don't have a clue about what is really happening in hardware.

I was often requested to use both software and hardware debugging tools in conjunction - be it to align disk drives in the old days or solve a bus problem in the later years. I would end up writing my own diagnostics because management had never bothered to coordinate hardware and software people in developing those necessary tools (that cost money). In many cases, communication was so poor between the hardware designer and his software assistant (who was writing the drivers) that some hardware and software departments all but would not talk to one another. Another tactic was no documentation for the hardware / software interface. Quality was not as important as cost controls and schedules.

Therefore hardware caused strange problems where it does not affect the manufacturer's bottom line - with you.

USB was a unique and rather unusually reliable creation. To address this hardware/driver problem, the USB consortium would sponsor 'plug-fests'. Then when the product did not work with so many other USB products, the boss probably could attack both his hardware and software people to either force a team or create open warfare.

From the user's perspective (if he does more than just shotgun or swap components), the hardware (chips and software/firmware) incompatibility was often reason for strange failures.

Today, bad hardware causes Windows systems to not recover from standby or from hibernate. Incompatiblity causing clone computer board manufacturers to have long lines testing their boards to video cards from virtually every video card manufacturer. And still I have seen at least one motherboard that was not compatible with a large number of AGP video cards - literally dropping pixels when run in 4X mode. Again, defective hardware. A new version of the same board appeared but months later meaning the manufacturer knew of the intermittent and was designing a replacement while still selling that marginal and earlier version. Again - hardware failure. You don't matter when it is not a brand name product.